vanilla and maltesers ice cream

3c half and half
2/3c sugar (used turbinado)
1tsp vanilla extract
2c chopped maltesers
- melt sugar in a saucepan with the half and half on low - about 15min - refrigerate until cool, mix in vanilla
- into the ice cream maker for 25min - at that point, slowly pour chopped maltesers in.
- scoop into a freezer-safe container - should be ready in about 3hrs

...omg - this is the most flavourful ice cream i've made yet. slowly melting the natura sugar turbinado gives it something of a caramel taste. love love maltesers. this reminds me of the vanilla malteser ice cream i used to buy at greg's on bloor street in toronto...over a decade ago (loved the taste of it that much)

roasted banana ice cream

do not look at pretty pictures of homemade ice cream unless you are prepared to make it...
note to self made

my ice cream maker is getting a lot of use this week

ingredients
4 very ripe medium bananas
1c heavy cream
2c 5% cream
1/2c sucanat (natural sugar)

bananas were sliced and tossed in sucanat and baked at 325 for about 15min

at the 10min mark i tossed them around for more even baking
all in a bowl with the other ingredients
i used a hand blender to blend until smooth
cooled in the fridge for about 2hrs
and then into the ice cream maker for 30min
ice cream was a soft serve consistency at that point so into a container in the freezer for about 2hrs

this was really tasty, but i would have liked more of the cream taste shine. so next time i'll halve the amount of bananas and see what happens.

huge hit with the boys - huge, smeared all over their faces, hit

sweet sorbet

i just bought an ice cream maker. hmmm that makes it sound like a confession.
i ordered it online and got a great deal on a cuisinart with an extra ice cream making bowl, and it arrived yesterday.

so, late last night when the ice cream making bowl was frozen, i made my first batch - a sorbet

i had no cream or eggs in the fridge but wanted to test out the new appliance. i make lots of smoothies so i always have frozen fruit...so sorbet it was

my dairy free, gluten free frozen delight...

ingredients
4c frozen berries (mostly mixed and about a cup and a half of raspberries)

1/2c sugar - i use natural sugars so demerara

a few tbsp water
3 tbsp lime juice
2 tbsp corn starch (had to use some thickener - it's what i had)

i put everything in a small pot on low so that the sugar would blend
as it got a little syrupy, i broke out the hand blender and blended the mix together
i put it in the freezer to cool it to a refrigerated temp (about 40min)

then put it in the ice cream maker, blended for 23minutes and it was a wonderful texture - it was like a fruit gelato
it was really rich, i think i could have added a bit more water and cornstarch to stretch another serving out of it without sacrificing flavour.

am making more tonight - the 3yr old was delighted to have "ice cream", the 11mth old lapped it up and he is cutting 6 (!) teeth at once so am sure it felt great on little swollen gums, and i enjoyed a nice serving too - dh is saving his for a midnight snack...so any minute now.

i toasted some shredded coconut in the iron skillet to have a topping option